Indigenous Peoples’ Development

Sep 04, 2009 Editorial

The host of legal implications that have accreted around the term “Indigenous Peoples”, in the international arena, might have made our government more than a bit skittish about incorporating it into our local legal lexicon when the “Amerindian Act” was being amended in 2006. We are not so constrained. One cannot gainsay, however, that ever since it was ushered into office in 1992, the government has worked assiduously to make a positive impact in the lives of our Indigenous Peoples.
While some may say that this attention is driven by political imperatives: “pork barrel” politics is now the norm in all democracies. The bottom line is that there has been palpable development in the indigenous communities.
Right on top of the list has to be the long-awaited demarcation of the boundaries of Indigenous communities and transfer of legal ownership to the people that inhabit them.
Made a member of the team that negotiated the terms of our independence from the British, Stephen Campbell, the first Indigenous Member of Parliament was able to secure from the new government the obligation to transfer lands occupied by Indigenous peoples legally to them.
The PNC government, however, was dilatory to say the least. Today, fully fourteen percent of the land space of Guyana is owned by Indigenous people, not through purchase or transfer –by solely because of the fact of their indigenousness.
It is because of this reality, that in the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) outlined by President Jagdeo, Indigenous Peoples’ communities had to be given the right to “opt in” or stay on the sidelines, as they so decide. If they do “opt in”, then whatever carbon credits or other funds are earned by conserving their forests will go directly to them for their developmental efforts. In addition to this right, Indigenous Peoples as citizens of this country will have, of course, an equal claim to whatever funds accumulate in the Consolidated Funds, through the LCDS or other revenue collection measures of the government – as they do at present.
Guyana is a poor country but it is no secret that the Indigenous Peoples are the poorest of the poor. In every survey of income, measured by either income or expenditure, they come out at the bottom of the ladder. While something could be said against the criteria that measure the “poverty” of peoples that mostly literally live off the land through capabilities that they develop and sustain on their own, it is of interest that they have made their own decision to integrate their lives closer with the rest of society. It thus behoves the government to facilitate this process.
In this regard, a great push has been made to bring primary and even secondary education to the communities in even the most remote villages in our hinterland. The traditional scholarships that brought students out to the coastal schools have been augmented and even upgraded to include tertiary education at the University of Guyana. Teachers from these communities are also being trained through distance education and this can only catalyse the education drive, since there will be a greater appreciation of the special needs of Indigenous students. It is also noteworthy that special efforts have been made to preserve the indigenous languages.
It was rather refreshing that the President, in addressing an Indigenous audience declared, “We have failed to dramatically improve income in these communities because of a few things, and one major hurdle we have is the distance from the coast and logistics.” The government’s program of improving transportation to the interior villages and the rehabilitation of the Linden-Lethem road should reduce food prices. The provision of solar energy and cellular phones should also make life a bit easier but the ultimate test will be to match indigenous skills and products to the needs of the wider economy so that greater income can be generated.
To ignore this imperative is to only end up generating greater frustrations in the face of all the acknowledged progress.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News